


Can I Be Your Memory

by agrajag



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Blow Jobs, First Dates, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Canon, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-23 22:56:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14342730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrajag/pseuds/agrajag
Summary: "I'm assuming that he's no longer president, am I right?" Hermann had asked. "Because other than General Pentecost, I'm afraid I don't recognize any of you. I probably should have realized sooner. My headdoeshurt quite a bit."Hermann suffers from amnesia after a bump to the head and is suddenly very nice to Newt. Newt is way too gay to handle this. And what will happen when Hermann's memories return?





	Can I Be Your Memory

Now, the thing was, Newt was sorry. God, he was _so_ sorry, although no one seemed to take that into consideration. He had Stacker yelling at him for the third time since The Incident. Mako and Tendo were behind Stacker, giving Newt the most disappointed looks, and Newt couldn't help but feel as if he was a kid again and his dad was giving him that same, tired lecture he always did when Newt was in trouble. Yeah, you're not angry, you're disappointed. That's worse! The Shatterdome's physician was trying to talk over Stacker to ask Newt important questions about The Incident as she was looking over Hermann, and god Hermann. Hermann was smiling sadly at Newt as if he felt bad for him. As if it wasn't Newt's fault all of this was happening in the first place. For once Newt would admit that it was 100% absolutely his fault, and yet Hermann wasn't yelling at him along with Stacker. Which was part of the reason Stacker was yelling at him in the first place. Since The Incident - since Hermann had regained consciousness - he hadn't exactly been himself. Well, he was himself, but a slightly younger version of himself. When they had first brought Hermann into the physician's office, she had asked him the typical questions, and after they all heard Hermann say Barack Obama, it had gotten so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"I'm assuming that he's no longer president, am I right?" Hermann had asked. "Because other than General Pentecost, I'm afraid I don't recognize any of you. I probably should have realized sooner. My head _does_ hurt quite a bit."

And so, yeah. Shouting, disappointed looks, and a stressed out physician.

"General, could you please?" she asked. Stacker finally backed off and Newt slumped against the wall. "It appears Dr. Gottlieb has retrograde amnesia. I'm going to have to perform more tests to make sure it's not worse, but from what Dr. Geiszler has told me, I believe Dr. Gottlieb should be fine."

"Fine?" Stacker asked as he clenched his jaw. "How many years has he lost Dr. Chow? How can he possibly do his job after losing those years of experience?"

"My priority isn't making sure Dr. Gottlieb can do his job," Dr. Chow replied. Her voice was as cold as ice. "My priority is making sure his brain isn't damaged."

"Too late for that," Newt muttered under his breath before he could stop himself. He winced as Hermann turned back toward him, expecting to be yelled at finally, but it never came. Instead, Hermann laughed. _He laughed._

"All of you, out, now," Dr. Chow said as she started to shoo them out of the room. As Newt started to trail after them, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, you stay. I may need to ask you some more questions about the accident."

Newt made himself comfortable on one of the empty examination tables while Dr. Chow continued looking over Hermann.

"So, how many years _have_ I lost?" Hermann asked after a moment. "If I believe it's 2014."

"Eight years, man," Newt said. He pushed his glasses up on top of his head and ran his hand down his face. "God, seven whole years. Dude, I am _so_ sorry.

"It's not your fault," Hermann assured him.

"But it _is_ my fault! If I hadn't tried to cut into that kaiju kidney... I just got so excited. I'd never gotten my hands on a specimen of a kidney. But I didn't know that trying to cut it open would result in all the air blasting out and sending me and half my equipment flying at your head!"

"Did I get a degree in biology in the last eight years?"

Newt laughed softly. "Naw, dude. Things are just a little tight, at the moment, so we share the lab. You're still a math dork, don't worry."

"That's reassuring. I have to admit, I'd be very sad if I learned all this new information, only to lose it."

"Well, I'm going to have to do a scan," Dr. Chow said, "but I'm feeling rather hopeful that after some time, your memories will return."

"Oh, well, thank God for that Doc," Newt said. "So you're saying me and Herms will be back to bickering in no time?"

"Unfortunately," she muttered.

"Bickering? That's a shame to hear," Hermann said. "I was getting the impression we got along well. I mean, we do share a work space after all."

"Oh yeah, wow, of course. You won't remember, duh." Newt hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Yeah, so, hi Hermann. I'm Dr. Newt Geiszler and we kinda hate each other. Well, I'd like to think love to hate each other, you know?"

Hermann smiled, almost fondly, and Newt felt like his heart was going to stop.

"Newton, of course. You look a little different then how you described yourself in your letters."

"Well, those letters are like 12 or more years old now!" Newt said quickly. "So I may have put on a few pounds since then."

"I didn't mean in a bad way," Hermann said with a laugh. "Just... different. Though the glasses are the same. Who did you say inspired them? They had a strange name."

"Oh my God, Rivers Cuomo. I can't believe you remembered that."

"Of course I remembered," Hermann said. Newt almost missed it, though, since Dr. Chow ended up speaking over him.

"Dr. Geiszler, thank you for staying behind, but I'm going to prepare Dr. Gottlieb for the scan now."

"Oh yeah, right. Of course. I'll just, uh..."

"I'll need you to come back in say..." Dr. Chow checked her wristwatch. "...half an hour, to pick him up so you can take him to his room."

"Yeah, yeah. No problem. I'll see you in half an hour, then."

Hermann waved, honest to goodness waved, as Newt left the office.

Half an hour was nowhere near enough time to clean up the resulting mess from The Incident, but Newt was feeling so restless he couldn't simply do nothing while he waited for Dr. Chow to scan poor Hermann's noggin, so he headed back to the lab and got gloved up. He decided to start by cleaning up the chunks of kaiju kidney from Hermann's side of the lab. Hermann may have been nice to him in the physician's office, but Newt knew that Hermann was probably only being polite since he was essentially thrown into a different universe where he knew no one. Well, at least he had remembered Stacker. If Newt recalled correctly, Hermann had met Stacker during the time he was working on the equation that made neural handshakes possible. A little thing like amnesia wouldn't be able to stop Hermann's weird respect for Stacker, though, Newt figured. It also wouldn't be able to stop him from finding Newt annoying as hell eventually. Newt remembered from every ridiculous soap opera he ever had the misfortune of watching that the best thing to do was to act normal around the person, so it wasn't like he could use it as a second change to get Hermann to like him. Plus, he thought as he dumped clump after clump of kidney into the garbage can, he was never good at acting. He'd last maybe a day... two at the most. And then Hermann would end up hating him all over again anyway.

Newt went to put his hands on his hips while he surveyed his work, but thankfully remembered last second that that would be a very not good idea. He took his gloves off and washed his hands before scanning Hermann's side of the lab. Well, the floor wasn't spotless, but it would have to do. He could worry about the rest after he got Hermann to his room so he could get some much needed rest. Newt practically ran to Dr. Chow's office and skidded to a stop just as she was opening the door.

"Just in time Dr. Gieszler. You can take Dr. Gottlieb back to his room now," she said before turning back to Hermann. "I should have the results in the morning. You can drop in any time after nine."

"Thank you Dr. Chow," Hermann said. "Alright, Newton. Lead the way."

The living quarters were several floors above where the lab and offices were, so they had a long walk ahead of them. Newt knew that Hermann had to take it slowly or otherwise his knee would act up, though Hermann didn't know that anymore. He tried to keep up with Newt at first, so Newt had to remind himself to walk slower. The silence between them was tense. Well, at least it was tense for Newt. He was almost too afraid to talk and ruin Nice Hermann's view of him. He still had three more years before Hermann began to hate him, technically speaking.

"Newton," Hermann said as they neared the elevators. "You should stop beating yourself up over what happened. From what you've described, it was an accident."

If Hermann thought that was why Newt was being quiet, he could work with that.

"Ah, yeah. I can't help but feel guilty, though, you know."

"Well, if I said I forgave you, would that help?"

Newt hit the button for their floor and looked over his shoulder at Hermann. Of course he was smiling again. God, Newt honestly couldn't take it. He was being taken back in time himself. Back to before they had met in person and he would literally be jumping with excitement when he'd receive a new letter from Hermann. Sometimes he'd sleep with the newest one under his pillow for a few nights before he wrote his response. So many times he told himself he'd just been a dumb kid, developing feelings for someone he'd never seen before in his life. He tried to squash them down, and meeting Hermann in person and having him constantly belittling him helped, but he couldn't lie to himself anymore. The feelings were still there, and with Hermann treating him so kindly, they were bubbling up to the surface as if he was a bottle of soda that had been shaken and now someone was opening him up.

"Yeah, Herms, that helps."

"I have to admit, that's a rather silly nickname," Hermann said as they got on the elevator. "How did that start?"

"Uh, well..." Newt nervously played with one of his bracelets. "Well, to be honest, it started because I knew it annoyed you."

"Annoyed me? Well, as I said it is silly, and I wouldn't want you using it when we were in a professional setting, but I don't see why it would annoy me. I mean, if it's a nickname you gave me."

Newt had gasped so hard he started choking on air. He was about to ask Hermann if he had hit his head and then immediately hated himself for that thought.

"Newton, are you alright?" Hermann asked as he patted Newt's back.

"No, uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... been a long day." The elevator doors slid open and Newt hurried out as fast as possible. "Alright, it's just down this hall. You're actually next door to me."

"That must be convenient when we have to take work 'home' with us."

"Oh, no. We don't really do anything like that. Mostly you just bang on the wall when I play my music too loud."

"Isn't your music inherently loud?" Hermann asked with a laugh. "You still listen to a lot of punk and metal, right?"

"Well, yeah, though I listen to a wide range of stuff."

"That is true. I remember us bonding over a shared love of The Killers."

Newt turned around, walking backward so he could face Hermann. "Duh! The Killers were an instant classic, okay? Mr. Brightside is one of, if not The Best, songs of our generation, and it'll be remembered forever."

"I must agree, but please Newton. You're going to fall over if you keep that up."

"That's alright. We're here." Newton stopped in front of Hermann's door and gave it a tap. "I'm going to head back to the lab to do more cleaning, but you should be resting anyway. If you need anything later, though, I'll be just next door. As, uh, as I said before."

"Oh, alright," Hermann said. He almost looked sad, but Newt knew that couldn't be the case. "About dinner, though? I'll need someone to show me where..."

"Dude, of course. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'll pick you up for dinner, then?" Newt mentally chided himself as he realized how his choice of words sounded.

Hermann either didn't seem to notice or didn't seem to mind. God, Newt wished it was the latter, though it was most likely the former.

"How does seven sound?" Hermann asked and Newt was only able to nod before he basically ran back to the elevator.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If he put on Hot Fuss once he got into the lab, well, no one was the wiser.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With most of the, once pristine, kidney sample already picked up, it didn't take Newt very long to clean up the rest of the lab. Most of his time was spent reorganizing everything that had fallen off of Hermann's desk. Okay, so he didn't actually know where everything was supposed to go, but he tried his best. It seemed like Nice Hermann might be around for longer than Newt had anticipated, and the last thing Newt wanted was for him to realize he hated Newt after all because his papers had simply been picked up and dumped on his desk. Thankfully Newt knew exactly where the photograph of Hermann's family, his stretch ball, and the pen case, which subsequently meant all his pens, pencils, and chalks went. He smiled when he picked up the stretch ball and ended up playing with it for a moment before he had set it back in its place. He'd almost forgot that Hermann hadn't entirely hated him once they had relocated to Hong Kong. Sure, he complained about Newt playing his music too loud and therefore distracting him, but they had tried to work together in those early days. Hermann noticed that Newt had trouble keeping still and would make use of his various stim toys. When he wasn't covered in kaiju blue, naturally. Hermann ended up mentioning once how he might find something like that helpful, and so Newt had bought him the stretch ball. Before The Incident, it had been one of the only times Newt had seen Hermann smile.

_Eight years._

Newt could hardly believe it had been that long. The ball could, however. Hermann definitely had made use of it. Newt made a mental note to buy him a new one when he had the chance. Though he wasn't sure if that company would be delivering to the Hong Kong Shatterdome anymore. Word had only started going around about funding possibly being cut, and yet they were already being ostracized it seemed.

That was something to worry about at a later date, however. Newt had just enough time to head back to his room and have a shower before he was to take Hermann to the canteen for dinner. He may have spent a little extra time doing his hair and he may have picked out a clean shirt to change into. He knew it wasn't a date, even if they had accidentally made it sound like a date. It totally wasn't. Besides, Hermann deserved better than the Shatterdome's canteen for a first date. Newt had even day dreamed about a first date with Hermann quite a bit when they had been exchanging letters. Newt had been living in Germany while Hermann was staying in England when they had started writing, so one of his main ideas had been to fly Hermann to Berlin and they'd go to Dunkerclub for their goth night. Newt knew that Hermann would be out of his element, but he wanted to share something he enjoyed with Hermann and he had always hoped that for the second date Hermann would do the same in return. Though, God, he really shouldn't be thinking about throwing his arms around Hermann's neck and pulling him closer on a dance floor at that moment. He was going to have the dopiest grin stuck on his face when Hermann answered his door.

Newt tried to think of, well not exactly sad things, but anything that'd stop him from looking totally manic. That time he lost while playing Go Fish with Mako. No, that was too adorable. He was definitely still smiling. He raised his hand to knock on Hermann's door and thought about the time that Tendo shot him down after Three Beer Newt decided to hit on him. Oh, wow, that one still hurt and was too sad. Now he was going to look like taking Hermann down to the canteen was too much of a chore. Videos of cats falling off of couches! Hermann opened the door to find Newt laughing loudly and clutching his side.

"Are you alright?" Hermann asked. He looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, sorry man. I was thinking about cats. Alright," Newt said, wiping away a few tears from the corner of his eye. He draped his arm around Hermann's shoulders, not too much unlike how he'd been imagining moments before. "To the canteen, my friend."

Newt led Hermann to the canteen and talked his ear off telling him what dishes were the best to get on that particular day that by the time they got there, it almost felt as if The Incident had never happened. Hermann grabbed his tray and filled it up with exactly what he always got, completely ignoring all of Newt's recommendations. They were able to find a table that was empty, which honestly Newt thought would be for the best. Overwhelming Hermann with even more 'new' faces in one day might not be the best idea. Though, what _did_ Newt know? He studied kaiju, not humans. They sat down and started to eat but it wasn't long before Hermann broke the silence.

"So, why don't you tell me about how we met?" he asked. "I mean, when we met in person? I obviously remember how we started writing."

"Oh, uh, I don't think..." Newt scratched the back of his neck. "You're not supposed to talk about memories when someone has amnesia?"

Hermann laughed, although it sounded more like a snort. Newt refused to admit to himself how cute it was.

"I think you have been watching far too many soap operas, Newton."

"Well, what is there to say? We met in 2017 at a conference. Didn't really see each other much again until we were both assigned here. Oh, uh, here is Hong Kong."

"Yes, Dr. Chow let me know the boring details like where I am," Hermann said with a smirk. "Now, the Newton I know would tell a much more riveting tale than that."

Newt sent a silent prayer to whatever gods might happening to be listening and asked for them to please give Hermann his memories back as soon as possible. He wasn't going to live for much longer if Nice Hermann stayed around.

"To tell the truth, Herms, I don't like thinking much about when we met. It... wasn't the best day of my life."

"I suppose the conference must have been boring. I do tend to find them dull. I wish we could have done something more fun. I remember in a letter once you mentioned taking me to an aquarium and you'd show me your favorites."

"We could still do that sometime," Newt said before he could stop himself. He immediately regretted. "You know, when we actually have time."

"I'd love that," Hermann said and Newt couldn't help but feel guilty.

Yeah, he didn't even last a full day. He had to tell Hermann.

"Uh, wait. No, I should mention, it wasn't the best day not just because it was at a conference. We didn't get along once we met in person. When I said it was a love to hate thing... I was being, perhaps a little, facetious. In fact, I think you _really_ hated... _hate_ me. Just ask Pentecost. You've filed how many complaints against me. Say I harass you."

"I can't possibly see why. We got along so well when we were writing, and we're getting along now."

"Yeah, I am pretty confused about that. I thought once you had some time to get, uh, reacquainted, you could say, with me. With how brash I can be... that things would go back to normal before you even got your memories back."

"I wouldn't call you brash," Hermann said after a moment. "I'd say you're eccentric."

"Oh, wow, okay," Newt said with a nervous laugh. "Well, thanks Herms. Though, once everything goes back to normal, you won't think that anymore. So I feel a bit wrong being so chummy, you know?"

Hermann's face fell and he looked down at his tray. "So... you're saying it's mutual?"

When Newt thought about "mutual feelings" he simply thought of the positive, and for a moment he believed that Hermann had discovered Newt's ridiculous on-again off-again crush. Most people did tend to look sad once they knew Newt liked them. Thankfully his brain started working again and he quickly started babbling because God, no. He couldn't have Hermann thinking he hated him. Like, sure, he enjoyed tormenting Hermann and one of the greatest joys he found in life was when he was right and Hermann was wrong, but he didn't hate him. Lord knows if anything he was saying was making any sense, but Hermann started laughing, so he must have gotten his point across somehow.

"It's not mutual, then?" Hermann said once they had both calmed down.

"Not exactly," Newt said carefully.

"Well, who knows when, or even if, my memories will come back? What matters right now is what I currently feel, and I still see you as my closest friend." Right. _Friend._ "And what I'd most like is to make new memories with my friend."

"Yeah, of course. I'd like that, too."

"I'm sure work is of the utmost importance, but we must get some time off every once in awhile? We could go to an aquarium then."

"Yeah, yeah. Sounds good."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few days were practically torture for Newt. The morning after The Incident, Hermann went to Dr. Chow and was given the results of his scan. There was no permanent damage to his beautiful brain and she believed that his memories would come to him over a short span of time. She had advised him to continue on with his work since the familiar surroundings would help hurry things along. Hermann had returned to the lab by that afternoon, and after lamenting how he ever came to work in such a dreary place, he had started going over his own notes.

"It's so strange. It's as if I'm studying someone else's work, and yet it's in my own handwriting. Plus, it's years above anything I've done," he had muttered before chuckling softly. "Well, obviously. It _is_ years above what I did in 2014."

"Dude, I'm sorry," Newt had said. "I can't even begin to imagine how fucking weird that is."

Hermann had removed his glasses and was massaging his temple.

"I think I need a break." He had started looking around his desk, frowning slightly when he saw the photograph of his family, but smiled when he saw the stretch ball. "You bought me this, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that's obvious, I suppose. It's too colorful for you," Newt had joked.

"No... I... I remember that. I had made some off-hand comment about how your little trinkets to help with restlessness could prove to be useful, and you remembered so you bought me this."

Newt had immediately stopped what he was doing and joined Hermann on his side of the lab.

"Yeah, man! That's great. You're already remembering stuff!"

"Yes, and you are right. It's too colorful for me, isn't it? I told you that bright pink was a terrible choice which resulted in you lecturing me about the history of pink versus blue."

"Yeah, I might have done that," Newt had said as he dragged the toe of his boot across the floor.

"Though I didn't actually care about the color. I really appreciated your kindness," Hermann had said and smiled. "I still do. Thank you, Newton. I don't believe I properly thanked you at the time."

"Oh, no, I'm sure you said thanks. But, uh, you're welcome, Herms. Honestly, it's getting a bit old. When I was cleaning the lab, I was thinking, I should probably get you another one."

"Hhmmm, thank you, but I rather think I'd like to keep this one."

Hermann had held the stretch ball to his chest before gently placing it back on his desk.

Newt had been sure his soul had ascended from his body like they did in anime.

After that, it was if the dam had broken. Every once in awhile Hermann would freeze for a moment before announcing he had remembered something. A handful of the memories did involve other people. During lunch the one day, he left their table to walk over to Tendo, and Newt watched as they spoke for a minute or two before Tendo sprung up from his chair and pulled Hermann into a hug. Later Hermann told Newt it was because he had remembered when he first met Tendo. The next day, during a meeting of all the divisions, Hermann started smiling as Mako was updating the process of the Jaeger graveyard, and as the meeting was breaking up, Newt heard him congratulating Mako for kicking his ass at Go Fish. Well, he didn't quite put it like that, but either way Newt was totally going to get him back for that one.

However, most of the memories seemed to involve Newt.

So far Hermann had remembered the time Newt had put on swing music in the lab and had made him dance, the argument they had that ended up lasting an entire night about Newt 'overdoing it' with his tattoos, and at least two, if not more, of his written complaints to Stacker about Newt's behavior. None of these were particularly fond memories, at least for Newt, and he told himself it was only a matter of time before things went back to normal. However, Hermann seemed to find them amusing. Sure, he told Newt off again for his tattoos, but he wasn't angry in the slightest. He even assured Newt that all his protesting when he had pulled him into a Western swing was for show and that he had enjoyed himself until his leg had started acting up.

"You're just saying that Herms," Newt said, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt. "You definitely wanted to murder me while it was happening."

"I believe my way of thinking was along the lines of professionalism," Hermann explained. "Which, I do still stand by. We _are_ here to work, but there's nothing wrong with having fun now and again. Speaking of... when are you taking me to the aquarium, now?"

"Uh, soon. Soon. I promise."

There was no way he could take Hermann to the aquarium. He had to put him off until all of his memories were back. If Hermann still wished to be friends, or rather repair their friendship, once that happened, then Newt would absolutely take him to the aquarium. God, he'd take him to the moon and back if he had the time and resources. He sighed and threw himself back into his work. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but his little on-again off-again crush was more than that. It had been easy enough to deny it when all they did was argue and try to one up each other, but it was impossible to ignore with Nice Hermann around. Newt loved him. Well, not quite love. Newt believed you couldn't truly love someone in a romantic way until you've been with them, but he was on the path there. If he was in middle school, he'd say he like-liked Hermann. He like-liked him so damn much.

The two of them worked in silence for about another hour before Hermann pulled his glasses off, let them clatter to his desk, and walked over to Newt's side of the lab. He waited in front of the examination table where Newt was cutting up some kaiju skin samples until Newt finally set down his scalpel and looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" Newt asked. "Did you remember something else?"

"No, that's not it," Hermann said firmly. "You have been avoiding spending time with me."

"Herms... Hermann, I've been trying to be honest with you in the most delicate way possible, but may I reiterate..." Newt took a deep breath. "You hate me. We don't exactly spend time together."

"So you keep telling me. Yet, _you_ don't seem to have any feelings of discontent toward me and I've managed to start to piece together our lives after meeting each other in person. I won't lie and say that there wasn't times you annoyed me. You bothered me. But I know enough to know that I don't hate you. The opposite in fact. I rather, uh, like you."

"God, Hermann, I want to believe that," Newt said as he sniffled. When did he start tearing up? He had to do everything in his power to not start crying. "I really do think, though, once you get all your memories back, things are just going to go back to normal."

"But that isn't what either of us want." Hermann was practically shouting at that point. "And what happens if I never get all of my memories back? You're going to spend the rest of your life tip toeing around me and not enjoying the time we have together?"

"Don't you say that," Newt shouted back, poking his finger into Hermann's chest. When had he leaned over the table? Great, now he had kaiju bits on his shirt. He should really do something about that as soon as possible. "Don't you say that, Hermann. You're going to get your memories back. You have to."

"For God's sake Newton. Who cares about that? The world could end at any moment. We're doing our best to stop that, but that's a cold, hard fact we need to accept, and the only way to keep going is knowing there's something worth saving. For me, that would be the people I care about, and I care about you. I care about you more than anyone else. Honestly, why I don't know, but I do."

"Well, you're kinda starting to sound like yourself, now," Newt said with a chuckle. He started to do his impersonation of Hermann, which never failed to get him yelled at. "'Honestly why do I care about you? Overgrown child with kaiju on his shirt. Though I suppose that's an improvement. Look, it's not even ironed.'"

Hermann started laughing so hard he had to lean against the examination table. When he finally straightened himself back out, he cautiously looked at his hand to make sure it was clean and then wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I do not sound like that," he said. "But you're right. You _do_ have kaiju on your shirt. Come on. I know where you keep the spare. Let's get you cleaned up."

Newt was speechless as Hermann herded him toward his desk. He started to unbutton his shirt, though, as Hermann pulled the spare from the bottom drawer. He tossed the ruined one to the side, telling himself he'd try to salvage it later when he knew he wouldn't, and took the shirt when Hermann held it out for him.

"You've actually remembered quite a lot, haven't you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. It was a miracle Hermann heard him at all considering he decided to pull the clean shirt on as he spoke as well.

"It's hard to tell, but I think a majority of it is back," Hermann replied, looking rather guilty. "I didn't feel like it was impertinent to announce _every_ single detail I remembered. The only major thing I can't seem to recall is... when we first met."

"Ah."

Yeah, that made sense. While Newt, being Newt, couldn't exactly remember everything that they had said that fateful day, he knew it was enough to make it so Hermann stopped speaking to him for years. Newt had written him a couple of times afterward, although it would have helped if he apologized for his brash behavior, and Hermann never once responded. It had hurt, and in a fit of rage one night, Newt threw all of Hermann's letters out of his third story apartment window. If things had gone differently, perhaps this is what their relationship would have been like for the past eight years. True, it was more likely that they would have continued writing because their jobs kept them moving around constantly. Then, if they still both ended up in Hong Kong, they'd be friends with perhaps a little less arguing, because of course there would still be some arguing. A part of Newt wished, though, that it'd have gone this way. He would have gotten to take Hermann to that Berlin night club and tried to get him to dance with him, which probably would have only happened once Newt got a couple of drinks into him, and then the morning after, as they stumbled their way back to Newt's apartment, because of course they stayed out the entire night once Hermann got started, with breaks to rest his leg of course, and Hermann thanked Newt for such a great first date, Newt would ask him if he had anything planned already for the second date. By now they'd be so married they would probably still drive everyone else in the Shatterdome crazy with how they carried on, and wow. Alright. That was a thought that made Newt's heart race.

"There you are," Hermann said.

Newt's head snapped up and he looked at Hermann to see him smiling fondly.

"Huh?"

"You disappeared for a moment. Is everything alright?"

"Just day dreaming. About the first date I always wanted to take you on."

"We really wasted so much time, didn't we?" Hermann asked with a sigh. "But that doesn't matter now. You are taking me to the aquarium tomorrow. No exceptions."

"Well, that wasn't the date I had envisioned, but I think we're too old to do the original plan. Plus, I don't know where the cool, goth clubs are in Hong Kong."

Hermann started laughing. "We're not that old, but I must say, I don't think that'd exactly be my scene."

"Yeah, I mean, I had a **plan** but no. I'll... just... go look up what we need for tomorrow, then."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newt was impressed. He had no idea how Hermann convinced Stacker to give them the day off. He had assumed at the most they'd cut out early to go to the aquarium for about an hour, but Hermann had pounded on his door at eight in the morning and insisted he get dressed immediately.

"If you're going to wake me up so early, at least get me a coffee while I look for something clean to wear."

"You're disgusting," Hermann had said but Newt could tell he didn't mean it.

Well, not totally. And he _did_ go down to the canteen to get Newt the Shatterdome's sorry excuse for coffee. The day had barely begun and it was already perfect.

Newt paid for their tickets and then spent the better part of the day basically dragging Hermann around the aquarium, talking his ear off about all the different fish, and of course pointing out which ones had similar characteristics to kaiju he had studied. They stopped at the gift shop on the way out, and Newt bought Hermann a large stuffed sea turtle, despite Hermann protesting the entire way to the cash register. It turned out to be a bad idea after all, however, when they had to stuff it into their booth when they stopped at a ramen shop for dinner on their way back to the Shatterdome. They had everyone in the restaurant staring at them at some point during their meal, but Newt couldn't care less. He still had managed to have his perfect first date with Hermann. And next time, when they weren't busy saving the world, Hermann could take Newt to his place of choice. It may have taken about ten years, but they had made it. As they made their way back to their rooms, they passed Mako coming back from the training room, and Hermann blushed as he thanked her for saying his turtle was cute.

"Well, this is me," Newt said once they reached their rooms. He then pointed to Hermann's. "And that's you."

"Ah yes, convenient that is," Hermann said with a laugh.

"I suppose this is goodnight then?" Newt asked. God, he wanted to slap himself. He was acting like a dumb teenager all over again. It wasn't as if they were going to see each other the next morning in the lab or anything.

"Actually," Hermann said, drawing the word out. He suddenly looked rather nervous. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining me in my room."

"Oh."

"I would say to simply talk or something, but I think at this point in our relationship, we should be as blunt as possible, so yes. I would like to have sex."

" _Oh._ "

"If you aren't interested, I'd understand, of course, but as I said before, we can't be sure what's going to happen at any time. I'd like to spend as much of that time with you."

"Oh," Newt said dreamily. He crowded Hermann against the door, leaned up on his tip-toes, and kissed him square on the mouth. It was far from romantic or sensual, but he couldn't hold back anymore. He had to get it out of his system. It wasn't as if he had been thinking about it the entire day. Well, if he was being honest, longer than that of course, but it was watching Hermann the whole day knowing he was the reason for the smile on his face that was doing his head in.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then," Hermann said, looking incredibly smug. He unlocked his door and motioned for Newt to go in.

"Wow, such a gentleman, Herms," Newt said, though the end of the sentence turned into more of a yelp as Hermann pushed Newt onto the bed. "Or not a gentleman. Alright. I can dig this."

"You've always had such a way with words," Hermann joked. He leaned his cane against the wall at the foot of the bed and laid down next to Newt. "So, how would you like to do this?"

"Oh, you're one to talk about words. But what did I expect from Mr. Let's Be Blunt? Well, uh, like how far did you wanna go when you said 'sex'? Because I mean, I'd be down for anything. I may have been a little hopeful and..." Newt trailed off for a moment. He knew he must be blushing like mad. He was a grown adult. Why was he embarrassed to say, "Prepared."

"I do have the supplies if you'd wish," Hermann said, and he looked slightly embarrassed himself. Newt supposed that's what happened when you dedicate your every waking hour to the greater good and stop socializing like any other human being. "I'm also fine if we stick to blow jobs," he added.

Newt groaned.

"Well, dude, now I just wanna do everything. How about we just see where things go once we get started?"

"That sounds like a fantastic plan," Hermann said.

He cupped Newt's face and brought him into a proper kiss. As Hermann parted Newt's lips with his tongue, his hand gently moved from Newt's cheek to thread through his hair. Newt moved closer, throwing his leg over Hermann's hip and looping his arms around his neck. He pulled back for a moment to ask 'is this alright?' and before Hermann could finish nodding, he dived right back in. He opened his mouth eagerly and moaned into the kiss. He tried to not rut against Hermann. Honestly, they only had just started, but Newt was already so far gone. Being so close to Hermann was intoxicating. And then Hermann kissed Newt once more, gently, on the lips before leaning down to nip at his neck.

"Hey, Herms... not that that isn't... _oh_... that's _nice_... but you can't leave marks. You're the one always on me for not being professional enough."

"I suppose I'll just have to leave marks where no one else will see them, then."

Newt couldn't tug his shirt off fast enough. Hermann laughed, but he took his shirt off as well before reaching for Newt once more. He paid his neck some more attention, leaving only soft kisses and a few licks, before he shuffled, somewhat awkwardly, down and bit down on Newt's right nipple.

"Oh my God," Newt breathed out. " _Yeah_..."

Hermann's hand came up to tug on the other nipple for a moment before he switched. He went back and forth for who knows how long, though it felt like an eternity to Newt. He was a babbling mess by the time Hermann started working on undoing his belt. He might have tried to help rid himself of his pants and briefs, though it all passed in a blur. Next thing he knew, he was naked, and Hermann was very much still clothed which was unfair. He must have said that out loud because Hermann laughed again before he made quick of his own pants. Newt never though that sex with Hermann would be, dare he say, fun. Also, so tender. He had always thought if it ever happened, after the years of yelling and tension, that it would be hard and fast. Which, yeah, Newt could be into that. He would _definitely_ be into that, but he realized that this was what they needed at that moment.

"Newton, I would like it very much if you'd allow me to blow you," Hermann said as he ran his hand up and down Newt's side.

"Yeah, yeah. 'Course. Dude, how are you being so formal about this?"

"It's better for me to do this as we are now, on my side, if that's alright," Hermann said, choosing to ignore Newt's question.

"Of course," Newt repeated. "This is more than alright. Better than alright."

Newt leaned down to give Hermann a quick kiss and didn't even care that he probably had a double chin at that angle. Hermann turned the kiss rather filthy for a moment before he shuffled the rest of the way down. He started pumping Newt's cock as he kissed the head. Newt was about to tell Hermann to hurry on with it already when Hermann took the head into his mouth and started to suck. Newt's head fell back as he moaned again, and he suddenly realized he probably should be a bit more careful with how much noise he was making. The walls in the Shatterdome may be solid steel and almost a foot thick, but they weren't exactly soundproof. But then Hermann slid his mouth down and Newt decided that he didn't give a fuck. Nothing else mattered except for Hermann and how wonderfully, and deviously, talented he seemed to be with his mouth. Hermann pulled back and Newt tried so hard to not whine.

"I should have known you'd be so talkative in bed."

"I was saying all of that loud again, wasn't I?"

"I have to say, it's flattering."

"Oh, shut up, and get back to what you're good at," Newt joked.

Hermann gave him a salute, a fucking salute, and mouthed along the side of Newt's cock before repeating the action on the other side. He really was trying to drive Newt crazy. After another few torturous minutes of teasing, he finally took Newt's cock back into his mouth and started bobbing his head. He started out slow before picking up the pace. Newt could tell he was surprisingly close when he realized he had been bucking his hips without noticing. If it was possible for Hermann to smirk with a cock in his mouth, then he did. He started pumping what he couldn't fit in his mouth, which couldn't have been easy when they were on their sides, and Newt's heart filled with so much admiration at that moment. He carded his fingers through Hermann's hair before closing his eyes and letting himself _feel_. He tried to warn Hermann he was about to come, but all that came out was utter nonsense. Hermann seemed to have gotten the gist of it, but he refused to let up. He sucked Newt through his orgasm and didn't let up until Newt started to whine due to oversensitivity. He shuffled down the bed, then, so he could kiss Hermann. They must have looked ridiculous at that point. Hermann's legs were dangling off the edge of the bed. Newt's feet were dangling as well, and there was no way he was _that_ much shorter than Hermann. It was only a few inches.

"That's quite a thank you," Hermann said as Newt's kisses died down.

"If you think that's 'quite a thank you' then I am really about to blow your mind," Newt said as he tried to hold back a yawn. "Once I... I reboot."

"You're tried," Hermann said fondly. "That's not necessary."

"Oh, yes it is mister," Newt said. He tried to sound strict, but he knew he came off mostly dorky. "You scoot your butt back up there, lay back, don't you _dare_ think of England, and let the master do his work."

"I'm not calling you master," Hermann said, but he followed Newt's instructions.

"You'll be fine on your back like this?"

Hermann nodded and that was all Newt needed before he leaned down and immediately deep throated Hermann's cock. Newt could hear Hermann gasp above him which was nice, but he was hoping for something a little more substantial than that.

"Hey Herms," Newt said, his voice already scratchy. Hermann groaned at that, so Newt was starting to get somewhere. "How 'bout you fuck my throat?"

"While that's... that's, uh, a tempting thought, I don't think I could manage that," Hermann admitted.

"Hhhmm, alright, babe," Newt said, ignoring the scoff he got for that. "Still can blow your mind. Promise."

He winked and got back to work. He couldn't keep it up the whole time, so he alternated between burying his nose in Hermann's pubic hair and properly blowing him. He had always been overly enthusiastic about giving head so it was only a matter of minutes before he had made a mess of Hermann, not to mention that his eyes were starting to water. It was worth it, though, because Hermann was finally letting go. Granted, he wasn't as loud as Newt could be, but it was enough to appease Newt's ego. His breath started coming faster and Newt could tell he was getting close. He pulled back and finished Hermann off with his hand as he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, catching Hermann's come.

"You watch far too much porn, Newton," Hermann said as Newt made a show of swallowing it.

"C'mon, you know it's hot. It's stupid, but it's hot."

"It was hot because it was you," Hermann admitted and Newt buried his face in Hermann's chest.

"You can't say that. You're too adorable," he said, words muffled.

"No one has ever described me as adorable." Hermann managed to get his arm around Newt's shoulders so he could continue to rest his head on Hermann's chest comfortably. "Though, you might not find me adorable for much longer. I have a confession to make it."

Newt tried not to stiffen up.

"What's that, then?"

"I, uh, actually remembered our first meeting. A couple of days ago."

"Oh." Newt tilted his head up so he could study Hermann's face. "You don't look angry. I thought you'd be angry."

"I definitely was at the time. Alright, alright," Hermann said as Newt pinched him. "I was angry for much longer after that as well. But is there really a reason we should still be holding onto all of that anger? When we could have this instead?"

"No, you're absolutely right. This is definitely much better."

"Good. I'm glad you agree. Because now that I have you, I'm not planning on letting you go. I just need you to promise me one thing."

"Yeah babe?"

"Alright, two things. First, don't call me babe." Newt laughed but eventually nodded his consent. "And, second, try not to accidentally launch anything at my head ever again."

"I cannot promise that. Accident implies that I'd have no control over the situation. But for you?" Newt gave Hermann's nose a quick kiss. "I'll certainly try."

**Author's Note:**

> loosely based on a prompt from [otpprompts](http://www.otpprompts.tumblr.com)
> 
> title from sugarcult because spotify has been calling me out for my pop punk days


End file.
